How To Improve Quality Of Healthcare In Your Private Practice

You might be wondering what you can do as a healthcare practitioner to improve the quality of care in your private practice.

You have all the skills you learned while training and completing courses, but how can you put those to use to ensure the best patient outcomes?

If you want to learn more about improving the quality of care in your private practice, keep reading.

First Off, Private Practices Have Higher Quality Of Care In General

If you’re currently working a corporate healthcare job and considering leaving, you may find it hard to believe that quality of care is higher in smaller office settings vs. corporate ones.

After all, the corporates have built a well oiled machine designed to serve a huge number of patients, day in and day out.

How could a small office possibly improve on that?

Wolfson Et Al published a paper in 2009 looking at some of the issues faced by primary care providers in practices with fewer than 25 physicians.

They did note some issues – limited resources, smaller staff, and lower quality IT systems, in particular.

However, they also noticed private practices enjoy a number of benefits, including:

• Greater efficiency
• Improved patient retention
• Improved staff retention
• Higher job satisfaction among physicians
• Greater cooperation between healthcare providers

Much of this translates to a higher quality of care – since after all, clinics that don’t provide high quality care don’t see high patient retention.

So if you’re working in corporate healthcare and feel like you’re not providing the quality of care you hope for, one of the advantages of starting your own clinic is the fact that quality care goes up seemingly automatically.

But is there more to improving quality of care than just starting your own private practice?

5 Tips For Improving The Quality Of Care In Your Private Healthcare Practice

Here are some actionable ways to improve the quality of care in your private practice.

1. Set Quality Of Care Goals

One of the first things you should do if you’re looking to improve the quality of healthcare in your practice is set goals.

Setting goals will not only help you figure out exactly what you need to do, it will also help you measure your progress.

If setting goals is something you find challenging, there are several health organizations that can help, such as the Quality Payment Program, the National Quality Forum, and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

All of these places publish evidence based guidelines and measures that you can take inspiration from.

Remember, however, that setting a goal is only the start.

Once you’ve achieved a goal, you should always be looking forward to build upon your progress.

2. Make Your Care Accessible

The best thing you can do for your patients is make your healthcare easy for them to access.

Patients must have access to the right care at the right time in order to get the right results.

Access can look like offering a range of different prices so that patients from different backgrounds can afford to be treated by you.

It can also include hiring qualified staff who understand the needs of diverse populations and who can build a trusting relationship with your patients.

It could also mean ensuring the building where your practice is located has ramps and accessible entrances with enough room for a patient with a mobility aid to move around inside.

If your practice isn’t accessible, you might consider relocating to a medical coworking space that already has these in place.

Advertising and marketing is also an important aspect of access because patients need to know about what you offer before deciding for you to be their healthcare provider.

Related: Best Practices For Marketing Your Private Healthcare Practice

3. Engage With Your Patients

There are more aspects to engaging with your patients than just their treatment.

While their treatment is a huge part of how they interact with your private practice, you should be proactive in your engagement with them.

By thinking holistically, you can find effective ways to connect with your patients and their families.

It’s also important to network with the other healthcare providers involved in your patients’ care, as well as their insurance providers, and any social services your patients may be accessing as well.

4. Collect Data On Your Patients, And Act On It

If you can’t measure the quality of your practice, then you can’t manage it.

Gathering data through patient satisfaction surveys, studies, and conversations is valuable, and it’s something you can do right now.

Analyzing current data will help you identify opportunities.

Look at your population and your organizational operations to identify areas for improvement, then, use this data to establish a baseline for patient outcomes.

5. Take A Collaborative Approach

If you truly want to improve your quality of care, you should regularly research and learn from other healthcare organizations – both in your own region, and across the country.

Revisit the areas for improvement you identified and goals you set and look for other healthcare organizations that excel in those areas.

To find these organizations, keep your ear to the ground about healthcare facilities that are experiencing success in a certain area, attend conferences, read the literature, and research online.

Next, reach out to the organizations you’ve identified and find out what you can learn from them.

Most organizations are happy to share to improve the lives of all patients.

In addition to implementing changes at your own practice, you may find healthcare organizations you can partner with to improve patient outcomes.

Questions? Ask Symbiosis

If you would like to know even more about improving the quality of healthcare at your private practice, reach out to us at Symbiosis.

Our goal is to build a community of healthcare providers who want to realize their own dream of becoming business owners, without getting bogged down in the details of the business side of your private practice.

We can provide you with the tools you need to be a successful business owner, encounter minimal overhead and still maintain an excellent work life balance.

Ultimately, we strive to create symbiotic relationships between our company, healthcare providers, and their patients.

Contact us today.